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Third of Juvenile Sex Offenders Target Other Kids

Jim Liebelt

Jim is Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher for the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim has over 25 years of experience as a youth and family ministry specialist, and has been on the HomeWord staff since 1998. He has served over the years as a pastor, author, youth ministry trainer, adjunct college instructor and speaker. Jim’s culture blog and parenting articles appear on HomeWord.com. Jim is a contributing author of culture and parenting articles to Crosswalk.com. Jim and his wife Jenny live in Olympia, WA.

2010Jan 05

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More than
a third of sex crimes against juveniles are committed by juveniles,
according to new research commissioned by the Justice Department.

Juveniles
are 36% of all sex offenders who victimize children. Seven out of eight
are at least 12 years old, and 93% are boys, says the study by the
Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New
Hampshire.

The report comes as states toughen penalties for adult sex offenders and wrestle with how to handle juveniles.

"They
are different from adult sex offenders," says study co-author David
Finkelhor. They are more likely than adults to commit sex offenses in
groups, and their victims are younger and more likely to be male.

Finkelhor
says only about 10% of juvenile offenders have signs of "sexual
preoccupation," an indicator of a pedophile. He says teen offenses
include date rape. In the case of offenders age 12 or 13, it is often
sexual experimentation with younger kids.

Early sex education is key to teaching boundaries and preventing such experimentation, Finkelhor says.